ARTICLE #120) Mother relieved over DNA results

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Mother relieved over DNA results
Globe and Mail by Cathryn Atkinson

The mother of missing Kamloops woman Jessie Foster, who disappeared in Las Vegas two years ago, says she is relieved to learn that her DNA did not match the remains of a woman found in Texas.

But Glendene Grant was angered by the fact that she was not told of the results by the North Las Vegas police, but by a Kamloops radio reporter pursuing the story.

"This isn't the first time it happened. [The reporter] told me he was the first person to hear outside the Texas police, but they should have told us first. I called North Las Vegas police and they confirmed it," she said.

Ms. Foster's parents reported her missing to police in North Las Vegas, where she had been living, shortly after she stopped contacting them on March 28, 2006. The family hired a private detective, who gave them the devastating news that their daughter, who had lived with her boyfriend in the city for about a year, had been leading a double life as a prostitute with a Las Vegas escort service.

Since Ms. Foster's disappearance, her cellphone and bank accounts have not been touched, and a Nevada anti-slavery group has added her to a list of women feared to have been kidnapped by human traffickers.

Meanwhile, the burned body of a young blond woman was discovered in Kilgore, 190 kilometres east of Dallas, on Oct. 29, 2006. Ms. Grant contacted police after learning about the case last January from a crime-solving program. Both she and her ex-husband, Dwight Foster, provided DNA swabs shortly afterward. She learned of the negative results yesterday.

Ms. Grant remains convinced her daughter is alive.

"I just don't know why I had to wait [three] months for what my heart told me. I am obviously relieved, but I feel I can also say 'I told you so.' The reconstruction didn't look anything like her," she said.

"I have never felt that Jesse is not alive; I am so convinced that a mother would know if their child wasn't breathing on this earth any more. Your heart and your feelings are going to tell you something that is completely different than what might make sense in your brain."
Ms. Grant said she and her husband have three bounty hunters looking for Ms. Foster, and a $50,000 reward for finding her is still in effect.